"We must be ready to dare all for our country. For history does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid. We must acquire proficiency in defense and display stamina in purpose." - President Eisenhower, First Inaugural Address

Blaze of gunfire

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

The U.S. Navy has fired on Somali pirates who hijacked the Russian crew and British captain of a ship sailing off the Horn of Africa, a maritime official said on Tuesday.

Four Russian crew members, an Irish chief engineer and a British captain were aboard the Svitzer Korsakov, an ice-class tug vessel, when it was seized early in February as it was making its way to Russia's Pacific Coast.

"A U.S. warship fired at one of the boats. We don't know if there are any casualties," said Andrew Mwangura, director of the Seafarers Assistance Programme.

The U.S. Navy declined to comment on reports that shots were fired.

"We have ships in the area monitoring the captured vessel, the Svitzer Korsakov," Navy spokeswoman Denise Garcia said.

"We have a full range of options available to deal with piracy and we will utilise them as the situation dictates," she said late on Monday.

Garcia said the navy was trying to stop the pirates from re-supplying.

No comments:

Post a Comment

EagleSpeak

About EagleSpeak

The main focus of this blog is maritime security. Other matters may appear. I am a retired attorney and a retired Navy Reserve Captain (Surface Warfare). Opinions expressed herein are my own. Sometimes I have the experience to back them up. Your opinions may vary. Don't panic. Feel free to disagree, that's what free speech is all about.
Nothing contained herein should be confused as me giving legal advice to anyone. If you are confused, welcome to the club. All mistakes herein are my fault. I have sufficient academic credentials to be dangerous to myself and to others.
Comment moderation is at my discretion, so your comments may never appear. You can start your own blog for free and comment there all you want. I enjoy a healthy debate, but not arguing with trolls. If you can't comment without using intemperate language, go someplace else.
Under the header: USS Howard (DDG 83) fires its Mark 38 Mod. 2 25 mm machine gun during a live-fire exercise. Navy photo by MC2 Tyler Preston/Released)